Math Problems for Modern Culture

Here are some fun vacation math problems for you and the kids.


1.

If the artist 50 Cent gets $300,000 for the product placement
Of Bacardi rum in his song and video “Hey, Shorty,” how many
fifty cents does 50 Cent get?

Answer: 600,000

2.

If President George Bush won one election
because his brother was Governor of Florida,
even though his opponent got more votes,
and won a second election four years later
because the State of Ohio used Diebold voting
machines, how many elections did President
George Bush win?

Answer: 2

3.

If a Walmart employee makes $8.00 an hour equaling
$320 a week, minus $48 a week in taxes, and pays
$350 a month for health insurance, what is the employee’s
annual net income?

Answer: $8,856

4.

The United States has 737 military bases in 36 countries
worldwide. How many bases, on average, does it have
in each country?

Answer: 20.5

5.

The hole in the wall of the Pentagon resulting from the
9/11 attack by the hijacked 757 was circular and roughly
12 feet in diameter. The fuselage of a 757 is 25 feet
in diameter, and the plane’s wingspan is 200 feet. By what
ratio did the width of the airplane exceed the size of
the hole it created?

Answer: 16.5 to 1